Sunday, April 21, 2013

My apologies that I have not posted for over a month, my Father Albert (Bertie) Willamson passed away in March at the age of 77, his funeral was very large with over 450 people attending and over 1000 sympathy cards arriving over the last four weeks.

Dad was a well known Australian Stock Horse, race horse breeder and Hereford cattle farmer. Dad was involved with a lot of rural organisations during his life, he was a Former President of the New England Rural Lands Protection Board, former President of the Pinkett Sports Society (a rodeo held on our propety for 25 years, before being moved to its current location where it is in its 44th year), Life member of the Glen Innes Show Society, a member of the Royal Sydney Show Society, The Australian Stock Horse Society accredited Horse Judge, Australian Bushmans, Campdraft and Rodeo Association accredited judge, Captain Pinkett-Yarrow Creek Volunteer Firefighters, Glen Innes Pony Club selector and member, Glen Valley Polo X club, coach , umpire and selector, Glen Innes Tentpegging Club and a number of other rural organisations around Glen Innes and the New England region.

During his life he loved to spend time on his beloved stock horses on our propety's and lease hold country, roaming and mustering cattle in the wild eastern fall country of Upper New England. Some horses come to mind "Bushboy" (a famous flat racehorse and campdrafter), "Rusty Robin", "Robin", "Penny", "Pigeon" "Silver", "Banjo", "Rachel", "Pepsi", "Cilia" and "Buster". At times we would spend two weeks mustering the back country with pack horses moving from mustering hut to mustering hut, bringing in the cattle after a winter in the back country. A good walker was important to cover long distances of up to 40klms in a day, faster than a vehicle in most cases along the bush tracks. In his younger days he loved flat racing (horse sprints two furlongs or less long) and would ride to events up to 35 klms, race, perhaps even campdraft with the same horse and then ride home again.

A picture of Dad in 1996, riding Pepsi (one of my favourites), a unknown Packhorse behind, not sure of the dogs names (but the black dog on the right is "Black Barb" a cross between a Kelpie and Dingo, they don't bark and are good lead dogs and will bite, very nasty to strangers and protective of the owner)

He was a great believer in good horse breeding and had a good eye for horses, as children we were always set up on great horses and for most of the summer we travelled to shows, rodeos and campdrafting events in the New England, and in the winter Polo x was our chosen sport.

He was also a keen cattle breeder and we had at times up too 1000 cattle on the various property's, what I remember though is the mustering of the cows and calves from the lease contry (which is now mostly National parks) to our land for branding etc. This country is some of the "wildest in NSW" (remarked upon by the famous Layland Brothers) all of it falls from the tablelands to the coast some areas included Henry River valley, the Sara river valley, London bridge, Baileys, the Seven Mile, Paddys Land, and Chaelundi (New South Wales, Australia)to view this country just search on google maps and you will see just how wild it is!

Dad was also fond of the a good sirlion, t-bone, roasted lamb, bagpipes, bush poetry, telling rippings yarns, fine spirits (scotch and rum) and stout!

He will be missed by Mum, my two Sisters, Deanna, Cate, Tom, and myself, our partners, his 9 grandchildren, his 7 surviving brothers and sisters and all of his mates.

About Me

I have a fascination with History so I read a lot, preferring it to TV, my interest in reading lead me to wargaming and re-enactment during my life.
My main periods of interest are Greek 5th cent, Roman republican, Imperial and late,Sassanid empire, Dark age Norman, early medieval England, late 17th and 18th centuries France and Napoleonic German states, also a little ww2.